Drives of a Lifetime
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle. Learn more
Flip to back
Flip to front
Drives of a Lifetime: 500 of the World's Most Spectacular Trips Hardcover – October 26, 2010
$28.74
FREE Shipping on orders over $35.
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
Gift-wrap available.
NO_CONTENT_IN_FEATURE
Start reading Drives of a Lifetime on your Kindle in under a minute.
Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.
Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?.
|
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
From Drives of a Lifetime
Click on the images below to open larger versions.
 |  |  |  |
| INDIANA | The short drive across northern Indiana’s Amish country features well-groomed farms and quaint villages. An Amish store in Shipshewana sells a colorful array of goods. (Philip Scalia/Alamy, p. 185) | MASSACHUSETTS | The restored 18th-century Hartwell Tavern stands on Battle Road, where the Colonists fought the British. (Brian Jannsen/Alamy, p. 241) | MICHIGAN | At Point Iroquois Lighthouse near Monocle Lake, you can tour the small museum and climb the tower for views of Lake Superior. (Mike Briner/Alamy, p. 67). | IRELAND | The road around Lough Corrib runs some distance from its shore, but takes drivers through dramatic moorland and mountain landscapes. (Art Kowalsky/Alamy, p. 94) |
 |  |  |  |
| ALASKA | Turnagain Arm, part of Alaska’s Cook Inlet, is surrounded by forested and snowcapped mountains. (Julie Buehler/Shutterstock, p. 124) | ARIZONA | The spires of Cathedral Rock rise high above the desert, glowing red as they catch the sun. (Stockage/Dreamstime.com, p. 128) | JAMAICA | Small fishing boats bring an extra splash of color to an iridescent river near Ocho Rios in Jamaica. (Bill Bachmann/Alamy, p. 255) | VIETNAM | Brilliant flags line the Hien Luong Bridge over the Ben Hai River, a memorial to Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh. (David R. Frazier Photolibrary, Inc./Alamy, p. 259) |
Review
“Our editors’ pick as the top book of the year…Belongs on the bookshelf of every avid road tripper. It is sure to inspire automotive travelers of every sort to find their own roads less traveled.” –Automotive Traveler Magazine
“It’s a guide for the worldly road warrior…Even armchair travelers could get their fill in the pages of this beauty.” –San Jose Mercury News, Sunday Times (Central Contra Costa), Oakland Tribune
“With choices from all over the world, this book has something for everyone ready to take a trip. Even if you weren’t planning to take the road less traveled, one look at some of the enticing photos that accompany the narratives…may persuade you otherwise.” –The Sunday Oregonian
“National Geographic Traveler magazine’s editor-in-chief, Keith Bellows, provides an introduction to this beautiful, stirring guidebook that is a pean to hitting the open road; and what follows is an attractive and well-presented series of information (with maps) to some of the best road trips that anyone can experience.” –Booklist
“Inspiring, photo-rich…” –Chicago Tribune
“For the worldly road-tripper…” –Associated Press, –Richmond Times-Dispatch, -Newsday, -The Sun (Baltimore), -Philadelphia Daily News
“With choices from all over the world, this book has something for everyone ready to take a trip…enticing photos accompany the narratives.” –Sunday Denver Post
“It’s a guide for the worldly road warrior…Even armchair travelers could get their fill in the pages of this beauty.” –San Jose Mercury News, Sunday Times (Central Contra Costa), Oakland Tribune
“With choices from all over the world, this book has something for everyone ready to take a trip. Even if you weren’t planning to take the road less traveled, one look at some of the enticing photos that accompany the narratives…may persuade you otherwise.” –The Sunday Oregonian
“National Geographic Traveler magazine’s editor-in-chief, Keith Bellows, provides an introduction to this beautiful, stirring guidebook that is a pean to hitting the open road; and what follows is an attractive and well-presented series of information (with maps) to some of the best road trips that anyone can experience.” –Booklist
“Inspiring, photo-rich…” –Chicago Tribune
“For the worldly road-tripper…” –Associated Press, –Richmond Times-Dispatch, -Newsday, -The Sun (Baltimore), -Philadelphia Daily News
“With choices from all over the world, this book has something for everyone ready to take a trip…enticing photos accompany the narratives.” –Sunday Denver Post
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
38 of 40 people found the following review helpful
By
B. Beck
on March 24, 2012
Format: Hardcover
Comment
Sending feedback...
From the size of the book, it's obvious that this is going for the typical coffee table-type design. And yet, it has a lot of words and not that many pictures for that goal. As for the pictures themselves.....I'm not going to judge their artistic merit, but I've had preferred more pictures of the drives themselves. Talking about the Mount Rainier loop, for instance, they give a stock photo of Rainier taken from the hiking trails near Paradise (I know since I've taken variations of that exact shot myself when hiking). Nearly all the other examples are similar - generic shots of the countries the drives happen to be in, with little to no relation to the actual drive itself.
As far as the content, it feels rushed - they tried to cram in so many drives that there's barely any room for any info about a particular one. Maps are tiny (usually fitting in a 2"x2" square) and descriptions are brisk. Finding a specific drive is challenging - they're organized by content category (rivers, urban areas, etc.) rather than geographic area, so, for instance, attempting to find a drive near your current location is difficult (the index makes an effort towards this, but a map would be far better). I'm not entirely sure what I was expecting to get out of this book, but I ended up a bit disappointed.
As far as the content, it feels rushed - they tried to cram in so many drives that there's barely any room for any info about a particular one. Maps are tiny (usually fitting in a 2"x2" square) and descriptions are brisk. Finding a specific drive is challenging - they're organized by content category (rivers, urban areas, etc.) rather than geographic area, so, for instance, attempting to find a drive near your current location is difficult (the index makes an effort towards this, but a map would be far better). I'm not entirely sure what I was expecting to get out of this book, but I ended up a bit disappointed.
Thank you for your feedback.
If this review is inappropriate, please let us know.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
By
the3gs11
on March 31, 2011
Format: Hardcover
1 Comment
Sending feedback...
I love nat geo, and this book is great. It gives routes, estimated travel times, highlights, and excursions that you might what to take. My only complaint is that it's organized by what kind of drive it is (mountain, river, beach...) and not by region. We're planning a trip cross country and while it does have many suggestions for the USA it's a little frustrating to have Italy randomly thrown in there. Other than that it's great!
Thank you for your feedback.
If this review is inappropriate, please let us know.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
46 of 54 people found the following review helpful
By
Thomas Stover
on February 23, 2011
Format: Hardcover
Verified Purchase
Comment
Sending feedback...
This is the usual NG high quality publication. With its big pictures and small maps, it is easy to add many places to one's travel wish list and to relish memories of places already visited. For each destination, there's a summary of driving distance, recommendations of when to go, and a planning reference to a web-site. The book is organized into sections like "mountains," "sea & shore," etc.
I down-graded my "stars" for two reasons:
(1) There is no over-all way to look at a world map and see where these trips are located. You can use the index at the back of the book but that's not nearly so helpful as a visual map would be.
(2) Since this is a "driving" reference, one would think it would give some clue as to the availability of rental cars and/or motorbikes. Perhaps the authors didn't want their book to become quickly out-dated. But other than referring to something like Lonely Planet publications, the reader is left wondering how he could make many of these trips.
As usual, Amazon made the purchase easy and inexpensive.
I down-graded my "stars" for two reasons:
(1) There is no over-all way to look at a world map and see where these trips are located. You can use the index at the back of the book but that's not nearly so helpful as a visual map would be.
(2) Since this is a "driving" reference, one would think it would give some clue as to the availability of rental cars and/or motorbikes. Perhaps the authors didn't want their book to become quickly out-dated. But other than referring to something like Lonely Planet publications, the reader is left wondering how he could make many of these trips.
As usual, Amazon made the purchase easy and inexpensive.
Thank you for your feedback.
If this review is inappropriate, please let us know.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful
By
Char
on January 8, 2011
Format: Hardcover
Verified Purchase
Comment
Sending feedback...
I bought this book as a Christmas present for my dad. We have a love for travel, and this book proved to be a source of inspiration for us. The info about each of the destinations was helpful and the photos were beautiful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If this review is inappropriate, please let us know.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
By
Smith
on December 29, 2010
Format: Hardcover
Verified Purchase
Comment
Sending feedback...
I bought two of these for Christmas gifts. I looked through one of them (don't tell!). It is so beautiful! If you never take the drives, the pictures are worth it! And it is packed with suggestions. My nephew loved it and is already making plans! I would recommend this book!
Thank you for your feedback.
If this review is inappropriate, please let us know.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By
Sigman
on July 27, 2011
Format: Hardcover
Verified Purchase
Comment
Sending feedback...
Inside information is pretty much complete, especially to a newbie. But also from a newbie point of view, the information is not 100% conveniently organized. Say I wanted to go to Italy, then I have to look up the index under "Italy" to find out what I was looking for. Maybe I need something like "Italy Tourist Complete Guide". Anyway, I never regret buying this book - An excellent book!
Thank you for your feedback.
If this review is inappropriate, please let us know.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By
Kathryn M.
on February 9, 2011
Format: Hardcover
Verified Purchase
Comment
Sending feedback...
This book is beautiful, the pictures are great and it definitely makes me want to start planning my next trip. It has plenty of ideas for the person who loves driving. It even shows you little maps on some of the pages that show you the route to take, just awesome! :)
Thank you for your feedback.
If this review is inappropriate, please let us know.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By
Grifel
on March 20, 2014
Format: Hardcover
Verified Purchase
Comment
Sending feedback...
Gorgeous, useful, fascinating, enticing! What other adjectives can I use for this fantastic book? I can't wait to hit the road with this as my guide.
Thank you for your feedback.
If this review is inappropriate, please let us know.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Customer Images
Most Recent Customer Reviews
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
